


Ghost of a Shark

by Adorable Blondes (Chloe), bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Chlollie - Fandom, Smallville
Genre: Chlollie, F/M, Ghost of a Shark, adorable blondes, http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1117609.html
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-12
Updated: 2010-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-23 19:06:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe/pseuds/Adorable%20Blondes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Title: Ghost of a Shark  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)**dl_greenarrow**  
Rated: R for language.  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks. :D  
Summary: Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.  
Spoilers: Major spoilers for all of season ten so far.

Oliver sat in his car long after the back tire had blown. He hadn't bothered calling for a tow truck or even opening the trunk of the car to get the spare. He simply sat in the driver's seat, staring blankly out the windshield. In the scheme of things, what was a blown tire anyway? It wasn't like it really mattered. Especially not today.

Today nothing mattered.

He shut his eyes. One year. One year to the day that Chloe had vanished from his life. Had traded herself to save his ass. Had taken a cyanide pill that could have killed her had she not had the antidote. Had erased all traces of herself from existence.

His throat tightened and he let out a breath, sliding down in his seat a little. He'd let her down. And she'd still saved him. He didn't understand it at all. He wasn't worth that kind of sacrifice, and he'd proven that fact over and over again. Even after a year, after night after night of not sleeping, trying to figure out the why's and the how's, he still didn't understand it.

Oliver wished she'd just let him die. It would have been less painful than the existence he'd been living since she'd been gone.

Swallowing hard, he rubbed a hand over his face, felt the scratchy, two-day stubble there. He'd gotten in his car the day before, unable to be anywhere near Metropolis on the one year anniversary, and had just driven. Hell, he didn't even know where he was. He'd driven for hours until the stupid tire had blown, stranding him just inside some little town he'd never heard of before, with the population of 510 according to the sign.

Sighing, he reluctantly climbed out of the car and headed for the small diner up the road. Maybe he could just get something to drink and the migraine that was building would go away.

Just a couple of booths from the door, Chloe thanked the waiter for refilling her water and unfolded the paper in front of her. She was aware of today's date and while she knew there was nothing about her to be published, part of her always feared she'd unfold the paper and find a picture of herself in the cover.

Oliver let out a breath as he stepped into the little mom and pop diner--The Sundown. Appropriate name, he thought tiredly as he made his way toward the counter.

Once she was through the first page, she folded the paper in half and laid it on the table, before turning her attention down to her pancakes.

He sat down on one of the stools at the counter and shut his eyes, his shoulders slumping. He heard footsteps approaching but didn't even open his eyes.

Chloe turned her head up at the footsteps and smiled at Mr. Gilbert as he walked past her booth.

"Late breakfast Ms. Green?" He said, offering her a mostly toothless smile.

"I actually managed to sleep in this morning, I had to celebrate it with pancakes," she told him, watching as the man moved to his usual booth by the kitchen.

Oliver slowly lifted his head at the sound of the voice. It couldn't be. He had to be imagining things. It only made sense because of the date, he rationalized, holding his breath for a long moment.

Chloe settled back against her seat and turned her attention back down to the paper, taking another bite and stealing glances to her side every now and then, just to make sure everything was okay.

"Sir? Can I get you something?" a waitress asked, glancing across the counter to Oliver.

He was silent for a moment, then he rubbed a hand over his face. "Glass of water," he said quietly. "Please."

Pursing her lips together, Chloe focused her attention on the latest article written by her cousin and couldn't help but smile at the passion behind her words, if she had to guess five or six years back, she would never have guessed Lois would become a reporter, and a good one too.

"Here you go, Sir." The woman set a glass of water down in front of him and he did his best to fake a smile, popping a couple of painkillers in his mouth and drinking them down. Then he pulled out his wallet and dropped a twenty dollar bill on the counter before rising to his feet once more and starting for the door, pausing as his gaze settled on the woman with dark blond hair in a booth near the door.

With a soft smile on her face, Chloe shook her head and set the paper back down, Lois was actively supporting Clark's superhero activities now and that was something else she wouldn't have guessed would happen a few years back.

Oliver sucked in a breath as the woman lifted her head a little. He blinked a few times, taking a step back involuntarily. This was it. He'd finally snapped and lost his mind. Now not only was he _hearing_ her, but he was _seeing_ her, too.

She was about to lift her glass to her lips when she felt eyes on her, her stomach tightening instantly as she slowly lifted her head to see who was staring, she saw a man standing a few feet away, and when her eyes fell on his face, her heart stopped completely.

His heart was pounding against his chest as he stared at her, his breathing growing ragged. He heard the waitress ask him something, but he couldn't make out the words.

Her mouth had gone dry but Chloe managed to blink and look away, she had to do something, he was just standing there, staring at her. He was _standing there_ , Chloe swallowed hard. And Mrs. Walker was talking to him, she had to think of a distraction. "I think you forgot your change," she told Oliver, her chest tight as she tried to act as normal as she possibly could.

It was absurd. She looked like Chloe. She _sounded_ like Chloe. His brain couldn't process anything. "She can keep it," he said, his voice faint.

Chloe's jaw clenched a little and she nodded, she had to get him out of there, or she had to get out herself, but she couldn't, not without him seeing... her stomach dropped and turned at the thought, so she just sat still.

Oliver's gaze dropped to the green bracelet on her wrist and he felt like someone had punched him hard in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him. He shut his eyes for a moment, then quickly headed for the door.

She let out a breath as she watched him walking out, her head spinning she did her best not to look suspicious, so she quickly pulled the paper in front of her face, her eyes feeling warm, her heart pounding, he knew. She knew he knew. She didn't know _how_ he had found there, out there, in the middle of nowhere, but somehow, he had and she had to stop him from ruining everything.

Feeling completely numb, Oliver slowly headed back for his car, unblinking.

With a deep breath, Chloe placed the money for her pancakes on the table and stood up, swallowing hard, she looked down at her daughter, who was still sleeping peacefully in the carrier and picked the carried up, she called her goodbyes with the best smile she could muster, then pushed the door open and made her way outside as quickly as she could.

He heard footsteps approaching him and he shook his head a little, rubbing a hand over his face. He couldn't do this. Not now. Not _today_.

"Stop," she called as quietly as she could with him still being able to hear her, doing her best not to move the carrier too much as she walked, she stopped a few feet from him, her heart beating fast against her chest.

The breath caught in his throat and he froze in his tracks, not turning around, but not speaking either.

When he didn't turn, she held her breath, maybe this didn't have to be this way, "I can't do this now, here" she told him, glancing around to make sure they were alone.

"Yeah, well. That makes two of us." His jaw tightened involuntarily and he started for his car once more.

Her chest tightened and she nodded, watching as he walked away, she wanted to stop him. More than anything else she wanted to stop him. But he hadn't seen _her_ yet. If he didn't see her at all, this would be better.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he felt his eyes well with tears that he forced himself to blink back. He pulled his car keys out of his pocket and rounded the car to the trunk, opening it quickly and grabbing the spare tire from inside. He just wanted to fix his car and get away for awhile.

Chloe watched him until he got to his car, then she turned around and disappeared back toward the town. She had no doubt he would be back, but maybe they would have enough time to leave before he did.


	2. Ghost of a Shark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.

Title: Ghost of a Shark  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)**dl_greenarrow**  
Rated: R for language.  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks. :D  
Summary: Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.  
Spoilers: Major spoilers for all of season ten so far.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1117609.html)

Chloe had spent the last few hours packing. Packing everything that was extremely necessary, she had to move, fast. She had to do this under set, _safe_ circumstances, not like this, not there, not where everywhere knew them. Not where someone could... she took a deep breath and shook her head, she wasn't thinking about that now, not when she had to leave as quickly as possible.

She checked on the sleeping baby once more before picking up a couple of boxes that had mostly baby clothes and starting out of the nursery and toward the front door, once she had the car packed, it shouldn't take her long. Balancing the boxes as well as she could, she reached for the door and unlocked it, stepping outside and instantly stilling.

The expression on his face was completely neutral, but it was the complete opposite of how he felt. "I was gonna just leave town, but then I realized..." He shook his head. "I couldn't."

With a deep breath, she stared at him for a moment then took a step back, getting back into the house and dropping the boxes on the floor before making room for him to come inside.

Oliver stepped inside, and glanced around, not surprised to see all the boxes that were packed up. "You made quick work of emptying the place out."

She closed and locked the door behind him, taking a deep breath, "I didn't want to chance it." She told him, "but apparently you were faster."

"Sorry to interrupt your fleeing," he said, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

Chloe rubbed a hand over her face and shook her head a little, turning to look at him, the last thing she wanted to do was fight, but she knew he had every right to be angry, especially considering what this looked like, "how did you find me?"

Oliver didn't look at her. "It was an accident actually. I was just driving. My tire blew. I had a headache so I walked to the diner to get some water to take some aspirin."

Her chest clenched and she kept her eyes on his profile, "so you weren't looking for me?"

At that, he turned to face her. "All I've done for the last _year_ is look for you, Chloe."

It was her turn to look away, she sighed deeply, she had expected as much so she simply nodded a little, "I'm sorry."

A bitter smile touched his lips and he shook his head. "It's not easy to find someone when they've erased every trace of their entire existence off the planet."

"That was the point," she told him, lifting her head to look at him, "you weren't supposed to keep looking for me."

His chest tightened painfully. "How could you possibly think I wouldn't look for you?"

"I thought if I gave you enough closure, you would at least try to move on," even if she had never believed that the letter, the photo and the empty bottle would have been enough, she knew how stubborn Oliver was, she had _counted_ on his stubbornness time and again.

Oliver felt the hot tears burn his eyes once more and he shook his head. "I was never completely sure it wasn't planted by the people who'd taken me in the first place."

"I thought you would listen to Tess," she admitted quietly, even if a part of her had secretly hoped he wouldn't, most of her hoped he would so they could all be safe.

His mouth twisted into a scowl. "I was also never completely convinced she hadn't killed you."

Shaking her head a little, Chloe took a deep breath, "I thought you trusted her more than that."

"Are you kidding me?" His voice lowered. "After what she did to me? After what she did to _you_?"

"She was in over her head," she told him calmly, grateful that he wasn't raising his voice, "she tried her best to fix her mistakes, and when I asked for her help, she came through."

"How _nice_ of her," he said flatly.

Chloe sighed deeply and looked at him, "I didn't plan on being gone this long," she told him quietly.

"Then _why_? Why, Chloe?"

Her eyes teared up slightly as she heard the pain and anger in his voice. Swallowing hard, she held her hand out to him, she didn't know how to put it into words, so she'd just show him.

Oliver stared at her hand for a moment, then reluctantly reached out and slid his hand into hers.

Her stomach clenched painfully as she held on to his hand, but she didn't say anything, she knew there was nothing she could say to him that would help him understand, with her heart beating fast against her chest, she pulled him with her down the hall and with a quick look at his face, she stepped into the room then pulled him inside it with her.

"Chloe, what's this all--" He froze in his tracks as he spotted the baby crib in the middle of the room and the breath caught in his throat.

This was not how she had imagined introducing him to his daughter, but at least they were all inside, all safe and away from possibly being seen. She kept her eyes on his face, but remained silent, giving him time to take it all in.

Oliver stared down at the tiny, sleeping infant, his eyes wide. Then he slowly lifted his gaze to look at Chloe, opening his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Chloe kept her eyes on his and swallowed hard, doing her best to fight the tears, "she's almost four months old." She told him quietly.

He quickly did the math in his head, his chest tightening as he continued to stare at her. "Are you saying..."

She did her best to push away the pain she felt when he thought there was a possibility she wasn't his, but her eyes teared a little more and she looked down, nodding, "you have a daughter."

Feeling overwhelmed and a little dizzy, Oliver slowly turned his head to look down at the baby once more.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe pulled her hand from his and took a step back, giving him space as she looked down at their sleeping daughter too, it was less painful to look at her than at him.

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face, part of him wanting to reach out and touch the infant's hand, but afraid that it would wake her or wake _him_. He wasn't even sure which. But he was pretty sure he was asleep and dreaming, because it was the only thing that would make sense.

Chloe wiped her tears from her face and sniffed a little, "she'll probably wake up soon," she told him in a quiet whisper, "she's been asleep for a few hours."

He turned to look at her once more. "Am I awake?" he whispered. "Is this real?"

Her chest only tightened even more at his question and she nodded a little, not trusting her voice.

Oliver swallowed hard, all of the anger draining out of him as the pieces began to fit together in his mind. "When you said you'd planned on coming back..."

"Lets talk outside," she whispered to him, wiping her face again as she checked on the baby then stepped outside the nursery.

He blinked a few times, dazed as he followed her out of the room.

With a deep breath, she made her way back to the living room, "you should sit down," she told him, motioning to the couch.

Oliver sat down without hesitation, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

Chloe watched him for a moment then took a seat too, but not too close to him, no matter how much she wanted to, "do you want me to tell you now or do you need some time?"

"You couldn't come back." He shut his eyes, his shoulders dropping.

She sighed deeply and shook her head, "not after you went public."

He swallowed hard at that, unable to look up. "It wasn't safe," he whispered.

"No, not for her." She agreed, keeping her eyes on him.

"Not for you either."

"I can take care of myself," she told him, "but I couldn't risk her life anymore than I already had."

Oliver's chest tightened and he rose to his feet once more. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be," she told him, closing her eyes, "there is nothing we can change."

"No. I guess there's not." His voice was barely audible.

"I didn't know I was pregnant when I made the deal," she told him quietly, "I didn't find out until Tess pulled me out."

He rubbed his hands over his face. "Chloe, it's...don't," he whispered. "It's okay. I get it."

"No, you're here now, you should know." She told him, "I wanted to get back right away, but Tess talked me out of it, I wanted you to be a part of everything but it wasn't safe."

It hurt to hear. It hurt that the one thing he'd been so certain would bring her out of hiding, would lead her back to him, had been the one thing that had kept her away. And he'd unintentionally put her and their child right in harm's way without even realizing it.

With a deep, shaky breath, she shook her head a little, "I should have found a way to tell you, but I knew that if you found out, you would come after us and I wasn't sure they weren't still after you."

Oliver shut his eyes tightly, his chest tightening. "You need to go," he whispered. "Away from here. As far as you can get."

"I know," she told him, her stomach turning, "but I want you to be a part of her life, Ollie," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"It's not possible." His own voice cracked and he turned to look at her. "It's not safe. _I'm_ not safe."

"There has to be a way," she told him, looking back at him, her eyes big. Now that he was there, now that he knew, she didn't want to lose him again, "if we managed to erase me, we can erase you."

"We both know that wouldn't be possible." He shut his eyes.

Her chest tightened and she looked away again, maybe it was too much for him, maybe he couldn't deal with it, he couldn't handle it as well as she though he could, so she remained quiet, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Even if we managed to erase every hint of my existence virtually, my face is everywhere. People know who I am," he whispered. "All it would take is one person seeing and recognizing me and it would be all over, Chloe."

She knew that was true, since he announced his identity, he had become more famous than any celebrity that anyone could ever imagine. With a deep sigh, she nodded a little, she wanted nothing more than to have her family together, but she knew that wouldn't be possible if she wanted to keep their child safe, and to offer her something that resembled a normal life.

Oliver looked at her, his expression pained. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"You didn't know," her voice came broken so she shook her head instead of continuing, closing her eyes tightly. He didn't know, and then it had been too late.

"Can I tell her goodbye?" His voice was strained.

Hiding her face in her hands as silent sobs broke through her, she nodded as well as she could.

Unable to stop himself, he moved over to her, kneeling down in front of her and pulling her into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around him instantly, wanting to do nothing more than that for the past year, her body shaking as she held him as tightly as she could even as she slid down to the floor with him. Seeing him was a reminder of how much she had given up, how much they all lost and they would never get back. It reminded her just how much she'd been bottling up inside, she'd been pushing away because she had to be strong and keep going, because this wasn't about her, or him.

It hadn't been about them since the second she found out she was pregnant.

Oliver shut his eyes, wrapping his arms around her tightly and pressing a kiss to her temple. "Shh," he whispered, stroking her hair as he held her. "It's gonna be okay."

"I'm sorry," she said after a long moment, but didn't pull back. She knew it wasn't going to be okay because their family would never be together, but she couldn't just break down on him like that, not when he had so much to process already.

His arms tightened around her a little more. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he whispered.

With a deep, shaky breath, she lifted her head and looked up at him, she wanted to ask him to find a way, but she knew it wasn't fair, as much as she and Tess had tried to come up with something, there was nothing they could do.

Oliver's chest tightened as he met her eyes. He lifted a hand to her cheek and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

Chloe held her breath at his actions, surprised for a second before turning her head slightly to kiss him full on the lips even though she knew this was a bad idea because he'd have to leave and she'd just be reminded how much she missed being physically close to him, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away.

He didn't hesitate in returning the kiss even though he knew as well as she did that it was only going to worsen and prolong their pain in the long run. He felt damp warmth on his face and he wasn't sure which one of them was even crying. Hell, maybe they both were.

She lifted a hand to cup his cheek and just as the kiss deepened she heard soft, whining noises coming from the baby monitor. It felt surreal, to have Oliver there and to hear their daughter, like they belong to separate worlds, separate parts of her life. Reluctantly, Chloe broke the kiss and sniffed a couple of times, wiping the tears from her face as she looked up at Oliver, "she's waking up."

He shut his eyes once more, leaning his forehead against hers as he nodded a little. "Okay," he whispered, reluctantly pulling away from her. His chest was tight, as tight as it had been when he'd returned to the Watchtower a year ago and found her gone. He rubbed a hand over his face.

With a deep breath, she stood up, looking down at Oliver for a moment then starting to the nursery when the baby started to cry, she didn't ask him if he wanted to come along because she felt like he needed some time.

Oliver remained sitting on the floor, not bothering to wipe away the stray tear on his cheek. Instead, he swallowed hard and reached into his back jeans pocket, pulling out his wallet. He pulled out all the cash he had with him--nearly a thousand dollars, and slowly rose to his feet.

A long moment later, Chloe made her way back to the living room, cuddling the baby to her chest, her stomach tight as she saw Oliver standing there and a part of her wondered if he had been planning on just leaving without another word, not that she blamed him if he had.

He turned to face her once more, his expression stricken as he took in the sight of her holding their daughter. Something he was never going to see again after today. Not if he wanted them to stay safe and alive. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out and he shut his eyes once more as his face crumpled involuntarily.

Chloe's hold on the baby tightened slightly as she saw the expression on his face, her eyes getting teary again as she pressed a kiss to the top of her head, but she forced herself to take a couple more steps toward him, "do you want to hold her?" She asked in a quiet whisper.

He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to get a grip on himself. He needed to be strong for her--for them. Like she had been. He just wasn't sure he had it in him. "If I do, I'll never be able to walk out that door," he told her, his voice strained as he fought for control of his emotions. It was going to be hard enough letting Chloe go again.

With a deep breath, Chloe nodded slightly and closed her eyes, her chest tightening painfully, "Tess has been helping me," she told him, "she won't be able to tell you where we are, but she can at least let you know we're okay."

Oliver exhaled slowly. "This is all the money I have on me," he whispered, stepping closer to her and holding it out. "Take it."

"We're okay," she assured him, not sure if it was better to take the money and make him feel like he was helping somehow, or to be honest and not let him worry about their financial situation.

"Please," he whispered. "It's the only thing I can help with."

Chloe nodded, adjusting the baby in her arms and stepping closer to take the cash from him, her jaw tightening as their daughter turned her little head to look up at him with curious eyes, but she brought no attention to it, "thank you."

Their fingers brushed and he swallowed hard, looking down at the infant, his eyes widening a little as he realized she was staring up at him. The breath caught in his throat.

Holding her breath, Chloe slid the money inside her pocket and shifted the baby again, she knew this was making it worse on him and although she wanted to see him holding her at least once so she could hold on to that memory, it was better if he didn't, "I'm leaving in the middle of the night," she forced herself to speak, to pull his attention away from the baby, "we'll be safe."

Unable to stop himself, he reached out and gently touched the baby's cheek, realizing he didn't even know her _name_. "What uh...what did you name her?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Tears ran down Chloe's cheek as their daughter focused her attention on him and a toothless smile appeared on her face, "Emma," Chloe swallowed, "Emma Joanne Green."

Oliver's chest tightened once more, at the name, and at Chloe's tears. Without thinking, he leaned in, kissing her forehead. "She's beautiful just like her mom," he whispered.

"She has your eyes," Chloe whispered, blinking away the tears so she could see Oliver and Emma better.

He smiled faintly, his eyes glassy. "Yeah. She does," he whispered, kissing the baby's forehead softly.

Swallowing hard, Chloe nodded, adjusting the baby in her arms even as she reached out with her little hand to try and touch Oliver's face, "she's been finding out that she can grab things," Chloe whispered, stopping herself from going on, there was so much she wanted to tell him, but it wasn't fair to him.

He leaned in a little, letting Emma touch his face even as his eyes watered. "I am so sorry, Chloe," he whispered. "If I'd known..." He shut his eyes.

"Please don't do this to yourself," Chloe whispered, kissing the top of Emma's head, "you didn't know and you were just doing what you thought was best," she took a deep, shaky breath, "all that matters is that we're all safe."

He nodded, swallowing hard and shifting to kiss Chloe's temple. "Stay that way. Please," he whispered.

"You too," she whispered, reaching for his hand with her free one, "promise me you'll stay safe."

Oliver slid his fingers through hers. "I love you," he whispered.

Her heart skipped a beat at his words and she squeezed his hand gently, "I love you too," she told him quietly, "now promise me, Oliver," she pleased, looking up at him, "I can do this as long as I know you're okay."

He leaned his head against hers. "I will," he murmured, closing his eyes.

Chloe brushed her nose against his and nodded a little, closing her eyes too, and smiling softly as she felt Emma's little fingers reaching up and touching both their faces. She wanted nothing more than to be able to stay there with both of them, but she knew all the reasons why they couldn't.

"Make sure she knows that..." His throat tightened and for a moment he couldn't breathe.

"She will know what an amazing man you are," Chloe promised him, her voice wavering as she opened her eyes, "and how much you wish you could be with her."

He nodded quickly, his vision blurring. "I should go."

With a deep breath, Chloe nodded slightly as she looked at him through her tears.

Reaching up with one hand, he cupped her cheek, leaning in and kissing her softly on the mouth. Then he pulled away quickly and headed for the door.

Chloe held Emma to her tightly and watched as Oliver walked out of the house, her chest so tight, it felt like it was burning, but as much as she wanted to stop him, she forced herself to stay where she was. At least now he knew the truth and he would be more careful about things.


	3. Ghost of a Shark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.

Title: Ghost of a Shark  
Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Rated: R for language.  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks. :D  
Summary: Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.  
Spoilers: Major spoilers for all of season ten so far.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1117609.html) | [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1120300.html) |

He made the entire trip back to Smallville in six hours, not stopping for food or to use the bathroom. He barely remembered the drive at all. Everything was a blur. As he made his way into the Luthor mansion, down the corridor toward the study, his eyes were red-rimmed and glassy. He walked inside without bothering to knock, finding Tess at the desk. He simply stared at her.

Tess looked up from her reports and arched an eyebrow, cocking her head and staring up at him for a full moment, "I see you forgot your manners in your last glass of whiskey."

"I haven't been drinking," he whispered, his voice strained. But God knows he felt like it. He rubbed his hands over his face tiredly.

Her jaw tightened imperceptibly and she watched him closely, not wanting to show her cards before she was sure of anything, "what do you feel like accusing me of now?"

He shook his head wordlessly, guilt sweeping over him. "I'm sorry."

Tess stared a second longer then acted quickly, pushing herself up from her chair and rounding the desk then making her way to the door, closing and locking it before reaching inside one of the drawers and turning on the small scrambler device before placing her hands over the desk and staring up at him, "what do you know?"

Feeling liked he'd aged twenty years in the last few hours, Oliver slowly moved over to the sofa and sank down onto it. "All of it," he whispered.

"You found her," Tess said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring down at him.

"Accidently," he murmured, staring into the fire.

Somehow, she doubted that, but she wasn't going to voice her opinion just yet, she needed to know more, "what are you going to do about it?"

"I gave her all the money I had with me. She said she'd contact you." He didn't look up.

Tess simply arched her eyebrows and stared at him a mix of of a smirk and an look of disbelief in her face.

Oliver let out a breath, shutting his eyes and falling silent.

"You're pathetic." She said finally, shaking her head.

"I'm aware."

"Then do something about it," she spat.

Oliver finally looked up at her wearily. "Like _what_?"

"Take some responsibility, Oliver. I didn't realize you were incapable of pulling yourself together without her around to make you do it."

His chest tightened as he stared up at her silently for a long moment. "You're right."

Tess wasn't convinced as she stared down at him, "then what are you going to do?" She asked again.

He rose to his feet, shaking his head a little and slowly moving toward the door, pausing. "Thank you. For everything you've done."

"You're not leaving," she said simply, starting at him.

Oliver glanced at her. "I'm doing what I have to do."

"No, you're fucking things up. Again." She said sharply.

"I'm not going after them, Tess." His jaw tightened.

"Of course not," she dropped her arms to her sides, "because that would require too much effort on your part, it would require you to think things through, come up with a plan that would work and that kind of work is too selfless for someone like you."

"What do you want from me?" he demanded, shaking his head. "Just spit it out already!"

"How about you try sacrificing something for a change instead of thinking about no one but yourself?" She asked him, her jaw tight as she stepped toward him, "use the power you have over the media to _their_ advantage."

"That's what I was planning to do, Tess." His voice grew quiet and he shook his head, unlocking the door.

"No," she said, staring at him, "you're planning on taking yourself out of the equation altogether and while _I_ think that would be better for that child, after everything her mother sacrificed to keep _you_ safe..."

He pulled on the door handle, then turned to look at her once more. "It's the only way to make sure they stay safe."

"You think they will be safe because you're gone?" Tess smirked, raising her eyebrows.

"You basically just agreed with it," he responded.

"No, I didn't," she stared at him, "but do whatever you want, you always do, with no regards to anyone else."

"You said you think it would be best for Emma." He stared back at her.

"I'm not her mother," Tess said, staring back at him, "and if you do something stupid _again_ , I don't think her mother can take it and she will be on her own."

Oliver shut his eyes, rubbing a hand over his face.

"This isn't about _you_ , Oliver and as hard as this concept may be for you to understand, it's about time you try to."

"Tell me what to do," he whispered.

Tess took a deep breath and glared at him, "sit down."

He moved back over and sat down on the sofa once more without a word.

She watched him for a moment then walked over to the chair opposite from where he was, "you're going to build a safe place, you are going to be confined to it for as long as it takes after we're done with this, five, ten years, are you willing to do this?"

His eyebrows furrowed a little but he looked at her anyway. "Yes."

"Good," she said, "it's time you make some sacrifices of your own."

"Just name it," he said without hesitation. Because there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to keep Chloe and their daughter safe.

"You're going to set up another media circus," Tess told him, her jaw clenching slightly, she was still pissed she hadn't been able to stop him the first time, "and you're going to quit, tell them they don't deserve Green Arrow, tell them they don't deserve to be protected."

Oliver's chest tightened a little at that but he relaxed. "Consider it done."

Tess nodded, "then you wait. Make sure you are seen in public a couple of times, but lay low otherwise."

"Until what?" he asked quietly, not sure where she was going with all of this.

"Until they don't care about you anymore, until whatever place you find is ready for you." She arched a single eyebrow, "and then we kill you."

Oliver stared at her for a moment, then began to realize what she meant. "Oh."

"I'll take care of getting Chloe and Emma to the place safely, but you will need help from your old friends to pull this off."

"The more people who know, the less safe for Chloe and Emma it will be," he whispered.

"You don't trust _Clark_ to help you with this?"

"Clark, yes. I don't want to involve the rest of the team."

"With Clark's help, they won't be necessary," Tess said simply then leaned forward, "this will take months and you will do as I say, when I say it, understood?"

"Yes," he said quietly. "I understand."

Tess nodded once and took a deep breath, "go, get the press conference ready, make it impressive but make it believable. We will talk again when it's time."

Oliver rose to his feet, drawing in a breath, as well. "I'll get it set up."

Tess stood up too and made her way back to her desk unceremoniously without another word.

* * *

Oliver slowly made his way into the clock tower that evening with a sense of resolve. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and hung it up, spotting Mia on the sofa curled up with a book. His stomach clenched and it dawned on him he hadn't even taken her into consideration. God, he was such an asshole.

Mia looked up from her book and scowled at him, "well, good, you're alive."

He pursed his lips at that, giving her a look. "I wasn't even gone a full _day_."

"Yeah? Where were you? You look like crap." She said, closing the book and dropping it to her lap.

"We have to talk." His voice was quiet, serious.

Mia raised her eyebrows at his tone, "what's going on?"

Oliver was silent for a moment and then he moved over to sit down beside her on the sofa, turning himself so he was facing her. "I found Chloe."

" _What_?" Mia's eyes widened and she stood up, staring at him, "where? Did you talk to her? Why didn't you bring her back?"

"Sit down," he said quietly, feeling completely calm--something he hadn't felt in months.

Mia frowned and stared at him, not sure what to make of his expression, but she didn't sit, "she's not dead, is she?"

"No." He gazed up at her and nodded for her to sit once more.

Frowning less, but still frowning, she fell back on the couch and stared up at him.

He offered her a small, faint smile. "Chloe's very much alive." Oliver paused. "And so is our daughter."

"Your... _what_? You have a kid!?" Mia asked, staring at him with eyes even wider if that was possible.

If he hadn't been so tired, he probably would have chuckled at her expression. Instead, he reached out and put a hand on her arm. "Yes. Her name's Emma," he said very softly. "She's four months old. And no...I didn't know anything about her until today."

"Whoa..." Mia murmured, blinking and looking away, "where is she? Where is Chloe? Is that why she's still hiding?"

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah. Because it's not safe for them to be around me." He looked down at the floor for a moment. "But that's going to change."

" _How_?" She asked, cocking her head and frowning harder.

"Oliver Queen's going to die," he said quietly. "Or at least...everyone's going to think he is."

Mia shook her head a little, "how? And then what? People are gonna see you and know who you are."

"No, they're not," he told her. "Because I'm going to vanish. Go somewhere no one can find us. Where no one knows a thing about Oliver Queen or the Green Arrow or the Justice League or any of it."

"Like where?" Mia asked, shaking her head a little.

"I'm not sure. I have to find a place," he admitted, gazing at her.

"And then you're gonna have Chloe meet you there?" She asked, cocking her head, not too sure about this plan.

Oliver nodded slightly. "Yes, eventually." His voice was quiet. "Not immediately."

Mia pursed her lips and looked away for a moment then at him, "what about me?"

"I want you to come with me," he whispered. "But I know you have a life here, and if you don't want to..."

"I'll come," she said almost instantly, raising her eyebrows.

A smile tugged at his mouth. "Yeah?"

Shrugging a little Mia nodded, "yeah, I mean, I gotta see you with a kid, bet you're gonna be drooling the whole time."

He couldn't help but smile at her. "Yeah, well. She's going to need a big sister to help keep her out of trouble. I mean this is me and _Chloe's_ kid we're talking about."

Grinning a little, Mia nodded and shrugged, "I don't know if I can keep her out of trouble but I can tell her how to sneak her way out of it?"

Oliver chuckled and leaned in, hugging her.

Mia hugged him back and smiled, then pulled back a moment later, frowning a little, "you're sure Chloe won't mind?"

His eyebrows furrowed a little. "Mind that...you're coming with me?"

"Yeah," she nodded, pursing her lips together nervously.

"She won't mind, Mia. She knows what you mean to me. And she cares about you." He smiled softly.

"Okay," Mia nodded, relaxing a little then smiling, "when are we leaving?"

"It'll be awhile." He smile faded a bit. "There are some things I have to do first. And it's...not going to be pretty."

"Can't be worse than when you came out, right?" Mia asked, frowning.

"It'll be worse." His voice was quiet, glancing up at her. "I have to have a press conference and tell them the Green Arrow is done."

"What?" Mia frowned, "why? You're faking your own death anyway."

"They need to be glad I'm gone," he said quietly. "So they don't dwell too long."

"Oh..." she nodded a little, taking a deep breath, "I guess it makes sense."

He watched her for a moment. "It's gonna be rough for awhile. I don't want you in the line of fire." He drew in a breath. "When I find a place, I want you to go first, before I do. Get things set up. Can you do that?"

Mia pursed her lips again and nodded a little, "yeah, where are we moving to?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted, rising to his feet and moving to get his laptop. "Need to start researching places that are far away and sparsely populated."

Nodding, Mia reached for her own laptop that was over the coffee table, "are we staying in the country?"

"Not necessarily," Oliver told her, shaking his head. "I'm thinking the farther away, the better."

Mia nodded then started to type on her computer, "can we at least pick a place where people speak English?"

A smile tugged at his mouth and he glanced at her sideways. "Yeah. I think we can manage that."

"Like where?" She asked, cocking her head, then her eyes brightened, "like somewhere in Europe?"

"Maybe," he said, considering that. "Someplace small, out of the way. Someplace no one would think to look."

"Nowhere too cold, though," Mia said, pursing her lips then looking down at the computer.

He cocked his head to the side, wishing he could find out what Chloe's opinion was. He had a feeling, however, she wouldn't want to go somewhere too cold, either. "What about somewhere in New Zealand?"

"Oh," Mia nodded raising her eyebrows, "yeah, that'd be cool and maybe we could even live by the sea so we could like, go swimming and stuff and no one would see you!"

"Exactly," he said with a smile. "And they speak English and it's a beautiful place. I think you'd like it."

"Have you been?" Mia asked, cocking her head.

"Once. When I was a lot younger."

"Awesome," Mia nodded and grinned as she turned to her computer, "I'll find a place."

Oliver smiled at that. "All right. Thanks, Speedy."

She shrugged and nodded at him, still smiling, then leaned forward and started her search. Oliver had been pretty mopey and angry in the past year, she couldn't wait until he was back to normal.


	4. Ghost of a Shark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.

Title: Ghost of a Shark  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: R for language.  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks. :D  
Summary: Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.  
Spoilers: Major spoilers for all of season ten so far.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1117609.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1120300.html) || [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1125026.html)

Oliver read over the latest headline about him. "Oliver Queen--Arrested for Drunk Bar Fight." He winced a little as he skimmed the article. Technically he hadn't been drunk, and the other guy had thrown the first punch. But the cops were more than happy to arrest him after the press conference a few weeks ago.

Sighing softly, he set the paper down, glad that he'd already sent Mia off to their new place to start getting things ready. He'd meant it when he'd said he didn't want her in the line of fire. He didn't want _any_ of them in the line of fire because of him. So he'd cut off all contact with them. He'd stopped answering their calls and emails, had changed all the locks on his doors and the codes to his security system. Guilt was ever-present, but he was doing what he had to.

He watched the red light on his answering machine blinking and sighed again, reaching out and hitting play.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing!?" Dinah demanded angrily, "do you even care how your ridiculous bullshit affects the rest of us? Do you even care AC narrowly escaped a protest of anti-league people because they all think we're assholes like _you_? I hope next time you get arrested, they _keep_ you in there!" She yelled before the line went dead.

He let out a breath, closing his eyes and reaching out to hit the delete button. He had read about AC's narrow miss thanks to an email he'd gotten from Bart. There hadn't been a hint of blame in the email, or even anger. He wished he could be honest with all of them, to make them understand, but it wasn't possible.

A few moments later, Clark appeared in the Clocktower, a frown in his face as he turned to look at where Oliver was.

Oliver drew in a breath, not looking up from his answering machine. "Clark."

"What is going on with you, Oliver?" Clark asked, staring at Oliver. He had been at the fortress, going through his training, but he had been keeping an ear out for the rest of them and in the past couple of weeks, Oliver's name kept coming up all over the place.

He raised an eyebrow. "Not keeping up with the news or the gang, I take it?"

"I heard parts of both," Clark told him, "which is why I wanted to ask you directly."

Oliver studied him for a moment, and then let out a breath, leaning back in his chair. "I found Chloe." His voice was quiet.

Clark's eyes widened a little, "where?"

He took a deep breath and began to fill Clark in on everything that had happened since the day a couple months before when he'd found Chloe in the tiny town several hours south of Smallville.

Clark blew out a breath when Oliver was done and sighed deeply, "so you don't know where they are now?" He asked quietly, still not able to believe that Chloe had a daughter.

"No," he said quietly, staring down at his hands. "Not at the moment."

Nodding slightly, Clark looked away, "I can try to find them, make sure they are okay."

"No." Oliver's eyes widened a little. "That's..." He shook his head, rising to his feet. "They're okay, Clark."

Clark frowned at his reaction, "I'm not going to expose them, Oliver."

"Never intentionally, no." He gazed at Clark. "But I can't take that chance."

He stared at Oliver for a moment then took a deep breath, "how can I help?"

Oliver was silent for a moment. "When the time comes...I need you to help me die."

At that, Clark just stared at Oliver.

"The world has to believe that the Green Arrow and Oliver Queen are dead." His voice was quiet.

He had gathered as much from what Oliver had told him about his meeting with Tess, but the question was, "how?"

"I don't know yet. Not the details."

"Okay," Clark said, nodding slightly, "let me know."

"Thank you," he responded, watching him for a moment. "They're going to need you, Clark."

"Who?" Clark asked, frowning.

"The league." He gazed at Clark. "They're going to need your help, your guidance."

His jaw clenched slightly but Clark nodded, "I know, I'm preparing myself."

Oliver looked away for a moment, letting out a breath. "They can't know, Clark."

Clark nodded, looking down, "maybe one day they will know the truth."

"Maybe," he said quietly. "It doesn't matter."

Clark was quiet for a moment then looked at Oliver again, "I won't tell any of them," he told Oliver, "but I won't lie to Lois."

Oliver nodded once. "I understand," he whispered.

He relaxed a little at that and nodded, "and eventually, she will want to come see Chloe."

He shut his eyes for a moment. "Chloe will want to see her, too. But we have to be careful, Clark."

"We will be," Clark assured him, "I'll make sure she waits long enough, until people forget about you."

He nodded, exhaling slowly. He was tired, and restless at the same time, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. "Thanks."

Clark nodded and straightened, "I should get back, but just call when you need me, I will keep an ear out."

"Appreciate it," he said sincerely. "Clark?"

He paused and looked at Oliver, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"We haven't always seen eye to eye." Oliver's voice was quiet and he looked at the floor. "But I know everything's going to be fine with you in charge."

With a deep breath, Clark nodded a little, "thank you."

He smiled faintly. "I'll call you when it's time."

With a short nod, Clark looked at Oliver a moment longer then disappeared.

Oliver watched him go, then shut his eyes, letting out a breath and sitting down in his chair once more. Now there was nothing to do but wait.

* * *

A couple of months went by before Tess felt like it was time to see Oliver again, so after the weekly meeting with the board members, Tess gathered documents that Oliver needed to sign and told the board she would be taking them to him personally. It was the perfect cover up and the perfect opportunity for their talk, so she found herself outside the Clocktower and since Oliver seemed to have changed the code, she had to wait for him to buzz her in before making her way up to the top floor.

The moment he realized that it was Tess on his doorstep, he buzzed her in, his heart beginning to pound quickly in his chest. He waited for her, opening the elevator grate when the elevator stopped at his floor. "Tess."

She stepped out of the elevator and held the files out to him, "I'll need you to sign all of these," she told him as she made her way further into the apartment.

Oliver let out a breath. "Right," he said, moving to sit down at his desk.

"How are your flying skills?" She asked, arching an eyebrow down at him once he sat down.

He paused, looking up. "Been awhile," he admitted. "But okay, I guess."

"Did you talk to Clark?" She said, looking around the Clocktower.

"Yeah. A couple months ago."

"There hasn't been an article about you in almost a month," Tess told him, "I think it's about time you take your plane out for a ride, Superman hasn't been seen around town in months, no one will suspect him of saving you."

Oliver held his breath for a moment, then signed the papers without looking at them. It didn't matter anyway. Not anymore. "When?"

"Friday," she told him, "during the day," Tess arched an eyebrow, "they will talk about it until late Saturday, early Sunday, when a category five hurricane will be approaching the coast of Florida."

His eyes widened slightly and he swallowed hard. "All right."

"Set everything up with Clark, let me know if you can't make it, otherwise, don't contact me. I'll be making sure they get to the house in the next couple of days."

"Thank you." His voice was quiet.

"Just do your part. I have transferred money to Chloe's account, and I'll be taking over your company once you're gone."

"I assume that's the papers I just signed."

"One of them, they are dated the day before you resigned as Green Arrow." Tess told him.

He nodded slightly. "All right."

She nodded, looking down at him, "Oliver? Make it big. Have Clark set the plane on fire not far from Metropolis, so people can see it explode in the air and there will be _no_ doubt you are dead. I don't want anyone asking questions."

"I don't either," Oliver said quietly.

"Good," she told him, standing up straight and looking down at him for a moment before nodding at the files, "are you done?"

He picked them up once more and handed them to her.

Tess nodded, taking the files from him and going over them, "Chloe knows how to contact me if you need more funds transferred so don't do anything stupid and withdraw large amounts."

A faint smile tugged at his mouth. "Noted."

She stared at him for a moment then looked down at the files, going over them before nodding, "good luck," she said simply before turning around and starting back to the elevator.

"Mercy?"

"Don't thank me," she told him, not bothering to turn around as she pulled the gate open and stepped into the elevator.

A faint smile touched his mouth at that. "Good luck to you too."

Tess smirked slightly then pushed the gate closed, disappearing as the elevator started to descend.

He shook his head a little, watching her go and then leaning back in his chair. Friday. Just two more days. He could do this.

* * *

Clark had hidden in the back of Oliver's private jet a couple of hours before Oliver was supposed to show up and he was getting nervous. He didn't care that he could fly without a plane now, that he couldn't get hurt, he still hated flying, especially under the circumstances. Circumstances being that Oliver was not a very experienced pilot and then he was going to have to blow the plane up in the middle of the flight.

Oliver wasn't feeling so great himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust Clark to save his ass--yet again--but frankly it had been a long time since he'd last flown. He climbed into the pilot's seat and drew in a breath. "You're here, right?"

"Yeah," Clark answered, taking a deep breath too.

"Oh good. How's your flying these days?" He stared out the plane's windshield.

"Judging by how fast your heart is beating," Clark answered from the back of the plane, "hopefully better than yours."

A smile tugged at his mouth despite his nervousness. "Hopefully," he agreed, exhaling slowly.

"Make sure you're flying over the water so the debris won't hurt anyone," Clark told Oliver, glad he wasn't allowed near the windows, he didn't want to look.

He swallowed hard, nodding a little as he began to turn on all the appropriate equipment. "Right. Water. Okay."

"We don't have to be in the air long, right?" Clark asked as the engine came to life.

"I really hope not," Oliver responded, swallowing hard. "Hey, Clark if uh...if something goes wrong..."

Clark arched an eyebrow, "yeah?"

"Thanks anyway?" He let out a nervous chuckle, then closed his eyes for a moment. "And tell her I'm sorry."

"We'll be fine," Clark said, a little more confidently than before, "even if the plane really crashes, I'm fast enough to get you out."

"Okay. Good. That's...yeah." He glanced over his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Clark nodded, looking over at Oliver, "go ahead."

He drew in a breath and cleared himself for takeoff with the tower. Within a few moments, he'd managed to take off and guide the plane into the air, his heart beating rapidly.

Once they were in the air, Clark forced himself to walk up to the pilot's cabin, "the plane can stay in the air even without you here, right? Auto-pilot?"

"For a brief time, yeah." He swallowed hard.

"Okay," Clark took a deep breath, doing his best not to look out the window, "get it as high as you can, then I'll get us out and set it on fire from the outside."

"I wonder if she's said her first word yet," he murmured a few minutes later, still staring out the windshield as he moved the plane to a higher altitude.

Clark paused at that and looked down, "how old is she now?"

"Eight months," he said softly.

Nodding, Clark shrugged a little, "I'm not sure when they start talking."

"Me either," he admitted. "I've got a couple books in my bag though."

Clark was quiet for a long moment, "you're lucky."

Oliver paused at that and looked up at Clark for a moment. "I know."

Smiling slightly, Clark nodded then looked out the window, his jaw clenching as he did, "are we high enough?"

"I think so." He checked the altitude.

"Okay," Clark took a deep breath, "grab your stuff and lets get out of this thing."

He put the jet on auto-pilot and rose to his feet, moving to grab his bag from the co-pilot's seat. "I'm ready."

Clark nodded once more, picking Oliver up against his side and with one deep breath, he pushed the door open, setting it on fire even as they flew out of it and in seconds, he was halfway to New Zealand.

From the heart of downtown Metropolis, Tess watched from the top floor of Luthorcorp as the plane exploded, nodding a little she stared out the window for a long moment, having already alerted anonymously a couple of her reporters that Oliver Queen was making a scene at the airport she simply smirked slightly, "good luck." She murmured before returning to her chair.


	5. Ghost of a Shark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.

Title: Ghost of a Shark  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: R for language.  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks. :D  
Summary: Based on Lazarus, future AU picking up a year after the trade.  
Spoilers: Major spoilers for all of season ten so far.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1117609.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1120300.html) || [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1125026.html) || [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1129781.html)

It took him nearly fifteen minutes after Clark dropped him off to recover enough from the motion sickness to stand up again. He'd thrown up twice. Goddamn, he hated flying like that. But if it worked, it was worth it. He winced a little, looking around and spotting the large house on the hill a few yards from him. Swallowing hard, he started toward it.

Mia was playing one of the five video game consoles she had purchased when she saw someone approaching the house, her eyes widening when she realized it was Oliver, with a grin on her face, she walked up to the front door and pushed it open, "finally! I almost died of boredom here on my own all this time."

He smiled at her, closing the distance between them and wrapping her in a hug. "Hey, Kiddo." He shut his eyes.

She hugged him back then made a face, pulling back, "why do you smell like puke?"

A short chuckle escaped him. "I don't like flying the friendly skies sans airplane."

"Oh," Mia shrugged and nodded at the house, "you seriously should go shower, but not until after I show you everything."

"How've you been?" he asked, following her inside and glancing around, eyes widening a little at the spaciousness. And he was used to spaciousness.

"Well, I was busy, as you can see, this place is _huge_ , but I got done with it about two weeks ago so I've been just... hanging out." She told him, "when is Chloe getting here?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted, still looking around. "The place looks great, Mia."

"Thanks," she told him then shrugged, "wait til you see the boat!"

He grimaced a little. "I don't...care for boats so much."

"Oh, don't be a pussy, you'll be stuck in this house otherwise," she told him.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Hey, you try getting stranded on a deserted island for two years by yourself after a boat hijacking and see how you feel about them."

"Chloe and I will be there with you to protect you next time," Mia smirked, leading him down the hall and pushing a door open, "okay, tell me what you think about this one."

He shook his head a little and followed her into the room, his eyes widening as he looked around. The walls were painted a light foam green color, and trimmed with baby animal wallpaper. A large crib stood in the center of the room, a couple of rocking chairs by the window that overlooked the ocean below. "You did all this?" He turned to look at her.

"Well... they kinda had the room set up like that at the store, so I just bought whatever came with it, I figured you'd like the green," Mia shrugged a little, "do you think Chloe will like it?"

He smiled softly at her. "Yeah. I do."

"Cool," Mia said, smiling at him then shrugging, "seriously, now go shower, I'll show you the rest later."

"I smell that bad, huh?"

"Yeah," she told him, "and I don't know if it's the room, but you still look kinda green."

Oliver grimaced. "Right. Where's the bathroom?"

"Your and Chloe's room is the last one at the end of the corridor, has a bathroom to it," she told him, pointing in the direction.

He kissed the top of her head as he passed. "You did great, Mia. Thank you."

"I'm gonna go swimming!" She called after him, "call me if you need to find anything."

"Will do," he called back, vanishing into the bathroom.

* * *

Chloe had been driving for at least two and half hours. Tess had told her New York wasn't safe anymore so she had packed up the bare minimum and had made her way to Gisborne, New Zealand, she had had a car under her name, or well, under Anne Green, waiting for her at the airport and she'd been following Tess' directions since. She had been told the drive was long and that the place was remote, but that it was safe.

Tess had also mentioned that she would have help moving in, so not to be afraid if there were people in the house when she drove up.

Another half hour or so later and Chloe found herself driving down a dirty road, she could see a single house up ahead after moments, the house had been concealed by the hills until now and anyone driving on the highway would miss it completely, Chloe supposed that was a good sign.

She pulled up to the house and stared at it for a long moment, the lights were on and there was a big truck parked outside, so she supposed Tess had been right about someone being in there. With a deep breath, she picked Emma up carefully, luckily she had slept most of the drive, and made her way to the front door, "hello?" She called, her heart beating fast against her chest.

Oliver had just gotten dressed in a pair of clean jeans and a black t-shirt when he heard movement in the direction of the front door. At first he thought it was Mia, but then he heard the voice.

The breath caught in his throat, his heart beginning to beat harder as he moved toward the door. He pulled it open slowly, drinking in the sight of her standing there.

Chloe stilled and her eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat as her eyes fell on him, "Ollie?" She whispered, adjusting the little girl in her arms slightly.

"Hi," he whispered back.

"What-- what are you doing here?" She asked, her mouth suddenly dry.

Oliver swallowed hard, then reached out with one hand toward her. "Come inside," he murmured, a little thrown that she didn't know what was going on.

Chloe glanced back toward the car then stepped inside, "are we safe?" She whispered, as happy as she was to see him, surprises tended to unsettle her these days.

"We are," he whispered back, closing the door behind her. "I thought Tess told you what was going on. I'm sorry."

"My communication with Tess is usually brief," she told him quietly, looking around the house, it was huge, spacious, with lots of windows, "what is going on?"

Oliver swallowed hard, suddenly wondering if she was even going to be okay with all of this, let alone happy about it. "Why don't we sit?" he suggested.

Chloe nodded a little, the fact that he wouldn't just tell her what was happening making her more anxious, but at least, he seemed calm, and that was slightly comforting. She took a seat on the huge couch that was a part of some kind of entertainment room and looked up at Oliver, her eyes still wide as she adjusted Emma in her arms so she was laying against her chest.

His gaze drifted from Chloe to Emma, his chest tightening. "Have you been reading the headlines?" he asked softly.

"I read about your retirement," her chest clenched, "the arrest and the fight..."

"It was all staged," he whispered.

"I was hoping it was," she admitted, knowing he wouldn't do something so reckless so shortly after he found out about Emma.

"It was Tess' idea," he said, watching her carefully. "And so was the plane explosion." He held his breath.

At that, Chloe's eyes widened, "plane explosion?" She gasped quietly.

He nodded slightly. "Just about an hour ago."

All she could do was stare at him, a stage plane explosion, his retirement, him saying he didn't want to save people, didn't care about people, saying they didn't deserve to be saved, she knew Oliver would never really do that. And now this place, this house out in the middle of nowhere, the perfect place for him to hide, her heart was beating fast, it all made sense, but she had to make sure, "Oliver Queen is gone?" She asked quietly, her voice wavering in anticipation as she kept her eyes on his face.

Oliver met her gaze and nodded once more. "Oliver Queen is dead," he whispered. "To everyone but three people who aren't here."

Her heart was beating so fast, she felt like it was going to explode, searching his eyes, she swallowed, "who?"

"Tess. Clark." He paused. "And Lois. He couldn't keep it from her."

Chloe's chest tightened painfully at the mention of Clark and Lois. They knew she was okay, at least, it had been so hard not to pick up the phone and let Lois know. Her eyes teared up slightly and she nodded, "does that mean you can stay here with us?" She needed to hear the words because she never thought this would be possible.

"If you're okay with that." He swallowed hard, his heart beating quickly once more.

She shook her head, staring at him and hugging Emma to her, her throat so tight, she wasn't sure how she was going to manage to speak, "there is nothing that I want more than for us to be a family, Ollie." She whispered.

Oliver's eyes were suddenly warm with tears. "Me too," he whispered back, rising to his feet.

Sniffing, Chloe looked up at him when he got up and frowned slightly, "where are you going?"

He moved from the chair to sit beside her on the sofa, winding his arms around her and Emma carefully. "Right here," he whispered.

Chloe leaned into him instantly and closer her eyes, adjusting Emma and freeing an arm so she could wrap it around him, a smile appearing on her lips, "I can't believe you found a way."

He kissed her temple and then kissed the baby's forehead. "Tess did," he admitted.

She turned her head up and kissed Ollie's cheek, "you should hold her," Chloe whispered.

Oliver nodded quickly, his chest tightening as he shifted on the sofa. "Please."

Chloe smiled a little more and opened her eyes, adjusting the baby and holding her out to him, her own chest tight as she knew she was about to see the moment she'd been dreaming of since her pregnancy.

Swallowing hard, he carefully took the baby from her, cradling her close to his chest. He stared down at her, an awed expression on his face. "Hi there," he whispered.

Holding her breath, Chloe watched the two of them for a whole moment before reaching into her pocket and pulling her phone, snapping a picture quickly, in case something happened, she always wanted to remember that look on his face.

Tears prickled at his eyes as Emma opened her eyes to look up at him. She yawned and smiled, then closed her eyes again. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "I'm your dad," he murmured.

Her vision was blurry as she took a couple more pictures before sliding her phone back inside her pocket, unable to take her eyes off of him, "I told her so much about you."

He slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers. "She's perfect, Chloe."

Chloe nodded, tears running down her cheek, "I know," she whispered, lifting a hand and running her fingers through his hair, she had to make sure he was real.

Oliver leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth, closing his eyes.

She leaned into the kiss and returned it instantly, wrapping her other arm around him as she shifted closer, her heart beating fast. He was there and he was going to stay there, with her, with Emma. Now she could tell him everything he'd missed and he was going to watch her grow like Chloe always wished he would... he was going to have the family Chloe knew he craved and the best part of it all was that they were all _safe_.

After a long moment, he slowly pulled away, brushing his nose against hers. "There's one other thing I haven't told you yet."

"What is it?" She asked quietly, opening her eyes after a moment.

"Mia's here, too." His voice was just as quiet.

"She is?" Chloe asked, surprised as she looked around the house, cocking her head a little.

"She went out to swim," he said with a slight nod, watching her carefully. "I hope it's okay. I just...I couldn't leave her, Chloe."

Chloe frowned a little and shook her head, turning to look at him, "no, Ollie, it's okay," she assured him, cupping his cheek.

Oliver smiled, relaxing as he leaned into her touch. "Good," he whispered.

She glanced down at Emma, who had opened her eyes and was looking up at them sleepily, smiling, Chloe leaned down and kissed the top of Emma's head, "are you going to wake up?"

Emma cooed and reached out to Chloe's face, smiling at her.

He held his breath, watching Emma reach for her and shifting carefully so she could pass her back to Chloe's arms. "Think she wants her mom."

Chloe pressed a kiss to the baby's palm and took her from Ollie, helping her stand on her lap and turning her slightly so she was facing him, "Emma, this is your dad," she told her, pointing at him.

Oliver shifted closer, his side pressed up against hers and he reached out, gently taking Emma's little hand in his. "Hi, Emma," he whispered.

Emma stared up at him with big brown eyes then started to smile, Chloe pressed a kiss to her temple then one to Ollie's shoulder then watched them silently.

He smiled back at her brightly, gently tickling her side, his eyes widening when she laughed. "Wow," he whispered, looking awed once more.

Chloe grinned softly and nodded, tightening her grip on Emma as she started to bounce on her lap, "she likes tickling."

"Must get that from her mom," he murmured, leaning over and kissing Chloe's ear.

She shivered lightly from the kiss and looked up at him, shaking her head and smirking a little, "possibly," she said, watching him, it suddenly didn't feel like she hadn't seen him for almost a year and half, in a way it felt like a lot longer, but at the same time, it felt like no time at all had passed because everything about him was still so familiar.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, keeping his eyes on her, as well. "I haven't finished looking over the house, but the nursery's great. Mia did all the decorating," he told her.

Reluctantly, Chloe looked away from him to look around the house, "really?" She asked quietly, "how long as she been here?"

"A few weeks," he admitted, smiling as Emma continued to bounce on her lap.

"Lets take a look around, then?" She asked, looking down at Emma too and grinning when Emma started to babble. Chloe pressed a kiss to her cheek then looked over at Ollie, "she's probably going to say her first word soon."

"She hasn't yet?" There was a hint of hope in his voice.

"No," Chloe told him, smiling softly as she watched him, "maybe it will be dad or something close to it?" She suggested.

He glanced at her sideways, smiling a bit but shaking his head. "She hasn't really been around me enough for that," he said softly. "It should be 'Mom.'"

"She will be now," Chloe said, smiling, "she's been hearing a lot about you all along," she whispered, watching him closely.

Oliver's chest tightened at that and he swallowed, nodding and sliding his arm around her, looking at Emma once more.

Chloe shifted closer and kissed his cheek softly, then grinned a little as she saw Emma reaching to touch his face, "she will probably not remember not knowing you," Chloe whispered, her chest tightening, but this time, with warmth.

"Think so?" he whispered, leaning in so their daughter could touch his cheek. He smiled at her, his eyes bright.

"I do," Chloe said softly, leaning her forehead against his temple and watching them then taking a deep breath, "thank you, for making this happen."

"I can't really take that credit," he murmured. "But I've never been happier to see anyone before."

Her eyes teared up again and she nodded, kissing his cheek softly, "me neither."

"I love you," he whispered, brushing his nose against hers and then kissing her softly. "Both of you."

Chloe kissed him back and nodded slowly, "I love you too," she told him quietly, "and of course Emma does too."

"Can I hold her again?" he asked.

Her face softened and she nodded, smiling a little sadly, "you don't have to ask me if you can hold your daughter, Ollie," she told him quietly then pulled back a little, shifting Emma in her arms and looking down at her, "wanna go say hi to your dad? Give him a big hug."

"Right. This is just...new," he whispered, nodding as he hesitantly took Emma from her arms once more. Emma smiled at him, placing her hands on his cheeks and he chuckled, rising to his feet. "Want to see your new house?" he asked her with a soft smile.

Chloe smiled and took a deep breath, nodding as she moved to stand up, "yeah, let's go see the house."

Keeping one arm wound protectively around his daughter, he wrapped the other around Chloe, kissing her temple and leading her through the different rooms, sincerely impressed by how nice the place was. Mia had done a great job. "What do you think?" he asked as they stood in the master bedroom a few moments later.

"This place is huge..." Chloe whispered, looking around the bedroom then stepping further inside, smiling as she looked out the glass doors that led to a balcony, which faced the ocean, "it's amazing."

"And plenty of extra bedrooms." He raised his eyebrows a little, a smile tugging at his mouth as he kissed Emma's forehead, bouncing her a litlte in his arms.

Cocking her head, Chloe turned to look at him, smirking slightly, "what are you suggesting with that?"

"Oh, not a thing," he said innocently, grinning at Emma as he raised his eyebrows.

Chloe shook her head and smiled, watching as Emma giggled happily in her dad's arms, "take care of her for a few weeks before you make up your mind on that one, Mr. Queen."

"Happily," he said without hesitation, looking over at Chloe once more.

Her face softened and she stepped closer, smiling up at him, "from the moment I found out I was pregnant, no matter how freaked out I was, I always knew you'd be an amazing dad."

"Really?" His eyebrows furrowed a little. He couldn't recall ever having been around Chloe and any small children at the same time, so he wondered what had made her so certain.

"Yeah," she told him, shrugging a little, "I just knew it."

"Well, I have no doubt that you're a wonderful mom," he told her quietly, smiling softly as Emma laid her head down on his shoulder.

Chloe smiled and shrugged, "we're learning how to deal with each other as we go."

He chuckled softly, rubbing the baby's back.

Smiling a little more as she watched them, Chloe pressed a soft kiss to the baby's back then looked up at Ollie, when he left to activate that satellite, she wasn't even ready to tell him the truth about how she felt about him and now they were a family and it felt so right.

"Welcome home, Chloe," he whispered.

She held her breath and reached to cup his cheek, nodding, "you too, Ollie," she said quietly, "this finally feels like a family."

His chest filled with warmth and he nodded slightly, turning his head and kissing her palm. "We are."

"Yes, we are," she told him quietly, smiling a little more, "and now we're going to be okay." Because as much as she had tried all along to pull herself together for Emma's sake, she always had doubts that she could do it on her own. Now she didn't have to wonder anymore.


End file.
